Vaccines still vital to protect children from serious diseases

With the recent news of an increasing number of pertussis ("whooping cough") cases — including the tragic deaths of some very young infants — this is a good time to reemphasize the important role that vaccines play in preventing some very serious diseases.

To a large degree, vaccines have become "victims of their own success." Because they have been so effective in almost eradicating many diseases, most parents these days have not had to actively worry about their children contracting polio, measles, rubella, Haemophilus influenza and many other vaccine-preventable illnesses. How many parents of this generation can imagine the terror of polio?

I completed my pediatrics residency in 1990. During the course of my training, I saw hundreds of children admitted to the hospital with Haemophilus influenza infection leading to pneumonia, meningitis and other extremely serious (and sometimes fatal) complications. By the time I'd completed my residency, a vaccine for this disease became readily available and this disease became essentially nonexistent in the United States.

However, in recent years, due to a drop in vaccination rates there have been several deaths due to this same disease. This really scares me.

We are seeing a resurgence of many diseases in large part due to an increasing number of unvaccinated individuals. With a decreasing number of those in the population vaccinated, we experience a decrease in "herd immunity." This leaves not only those who choose to forego immunizations vulnerable, but also those who are unable to receive vaccines, such as very young infants or those with compromised immune systems.

Over the past few years, we have seen outbreaks across the U.S. of such vaccine-preventable diseases as measles, mumps and Haemophilus influenza.

In 2008, a measles epidemic occurred in San Diego when an unvaccinated boy traveling from Switzerland was exposed while en route back to San Diego. It is indeed a small world we live in. Even polio is only a plane ride away.

Understandably, the increasing number of vaccines being offered to our children today has many parents feeling wary about potential toxicity, side effects and even immune-system overload. As a parent I understand this nervousness, yet as a pediatrician I know first-hand the important role vaccines have played in preventing serious and life-threatening diseases.

I strongly believe the benefits of vaccines far outweigh any potential risks. There have been no reliable studies to date linking vaccines and autism and, in fact, an increasing number of studies demonstrating no connection whatsoever. The "challenge" of a vaccine to an infant's immune system is minuscule when compared to what that infant faces daily in the environment — which, of course, is far from sterile!

The danger of delaying vaccines or following an "alternative" schedule is that it leaves those most vulnerable — infants and young children — unprotected. While whooping cough may cause a persistent or annoying cough in an adult, it is the very young infants who are at significant risk of death or permanent disability from this disease. There are very good scientific reasons for following the recommended immunization schedule for children.

As a mother to three boys, I understand the desire that parents have to protect their children from harm and to make the "right" decisions for their children. As a pediatrician, I believe it is important for parents to make those decisions based on sound information.

There is a huge amount of excellent information available about vaccines — and just as much misinformation. A good place to start is the American Academy of Pediatrics website, http://www.aap.org.